Pawlenty Opens Romney Veep Door a Crack

Richard Ellis/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- As President Obama heads to Minnesota today, Tim Pawlenty, the state’s former governor and now a national co-chairman of Mitt Romney’s campaign, said he would be “honored” to serve as Romney’s running mate if asked.

“I think I can best serve Mitt in other ways, but obviously anybody would be honored to serve if asked,” Pawlenty told reporters on a conference call Friday.

Pawlenty then noted that as a national co-chairman of Romney’s campaign, “we just don’t talk about the VP process.”

Only three weeks ago, Pawlenty flatly stated that he should not be on any list of possible running mates for the GOP presidential hopeful.

“I’m encouraging you to remove my name from the list,” he said in Minneapolis in reference to speculation about Romney’s vice presidential choice.

Pawlenty will travel to North Carolina this weekend to stump for Romney at the Tar Heel state’s GOP convention Saturday.